The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1887-09-02
A Surgeons Life,
From the Autobiography OF the Late w.
Gross.


From the Autobiography OF the Late ".
Gross.
Ihave always maintained that it it
impossible for any man to be q great
surgeon if he is destitute, even in a
considerable degree, OF the finer feeling
of our nature. l have often lain
awake for hours the night before an
important operation, and suffered
great mental distress for days after is
was over, until J. was certain that my
patient was out OF danger. l do not
think that it is possible for a criminal
to feel much worse the night before his
execution than q surgeon when he
knows that upon his skill and atten-
ton must depend the fate OF a valua-
BILE citizen, husband, father, mother or
child. Surgery under such circustan.
ces is q terrible taskmaker, feeding like
a vulture upon a mans vitals. 1t is
surprising that any surgeon in large
practice should ever attain to a re.
spectacle old age, SO great are the
wear and tear OF mind and body.
The world has seen many a sad
picture. ! will draw one 1.-THE surgeon.
1t is midday; the sun is bright and
beautiful; all nature is redolent of
Joy; men and women crowd the street,
arrayed in their best, and all apparent
ly, is peace and happiness within and
without. In d large house, almost
overhaneing this street SO full of lite
and gayety, lies upon a couch an
emaciated iigure, once one of the
sweetest and loveliest of her sex, q
confiding and affectionate wife, and
the adored mother OF numerous chill
dren, the subject OF a trichtful disease
OF one OF her limbs, or, it may be, of
her jaw, if not OF q still more impor.
tant part OF her body. In an adjoin.
ing room is the surgeon. with his as
sistants, spreading out his instru-
ments and getting things in readiness
for the impending operation. He as
signs to each his appropriate place.
One administers ~chloroform; another
takes charge OF the limb; one screws
down the touriliquet upon the princi-
pal artery, and another holds
himself in readiness to follow the
knife with his sponge. The flaps
are soon formed, the bone severed. the
vessels tied, and the huge wound APP
proximated. The woman is pale and
CHASTITY, the pulse hardly perceptible,
the skin wet with clammy pe%rspiration
the voice husky, the sight indistlnct.
Some one whispers into the ear OF the
busy surgeon, 1.-THE patient, l fear, is
dying" Restoratlves are administer
ed. the pulse gradually rises, and
after a few hours OF hard work and
terrible anxiety reaction OCCURS.
The poor woman was only faint from
the joint influence OF the annsthetic,
shock and loss OF blood. An assist.
ant, st kind OF seminal, is placed as a
guard over her, with instructions to
watch her with the closest care. and
to send word themoment the slightest
change for the worse is perceived.
The surgeon goes about his business,
visits other patients on the way, and
at length, long after the usual hour,
he sits down, worried and exhausted,
to his cold and comfortless meal,
with q mouth almost as dry and a
voice as husky as his patients. He
eats mechanically, exchanges hardly
q word with any member christianity,
and sullenly %retires to his study, to
prescribe for his patients-never, dur.
ing all this time, forgetting the poor
mutilated object he left a few hours
ago. He is about to lie down to get
a moments repose after. the severe
toll of the day, when suddenly he
hears a loud ring OF the bell, and q
servant breathless with excitement,
begs his immediate presence at the
sick chamber with the exclamation,
"They think Mrs. - is dying" He
hurries to the scene with rapid pace
and anxious feeling. The stu mp is o.!
a crimson color, and the patient lies
in a profound swoon, An artery has
suddenly given way; the exhaustion
is extreme; cordials and stimulants
are at once brought into requlsition,
the dressings are removed, and the
recusant vessel is promptly secured.
The vital current GIBBS and flows,
reaction is still more tardy than be.
fore, and it is not until q late hour oil
the night that the surgeon, literally
out in mind and body, retires
to his home in search of repose. Does
he sleep? He tries, but can not close
his eyes. His mind is with his patient;
he hears every footstep upon the
pavement under his window, and is
in momentary expectation OF the ring.
ing of the nieht-bell. He is disturbed
by the widest %fancies, he sees the
most terrific objects, and. as he
rises early IN the morning to hasten
to his patients chamber, he feels that
he has been cheated OF the rest Of
which he stood SO much in need. Is
this picture overdrawn? l have sat
for it Il thousand times, and there ID
not an educated, conscientious sur.
geon that will not certify to its accu.
racy.
a- -